I may not get there with you : the true Martin Luther King, Jr.

"So much has changed since the glory days of the civil rights movement - and so much has stayed the same. African Americans command their place at every level of society, from the lunch counter to the college campus to the corporate boardroom - yet the gap between the American middle class and the black poor is as wide as ever. Where can we turn to find the vision that will guide us through these strange and difficult times? Michael Eric Dyson helps us find the answer in our recent past, by resurrecting the true Martin Luther King, Jr." "A private citizen who transformed the world around him, King was arguably the greatest American who ever lived. Yet, as Dyson so poignantly reveals, Martin Luther King, Jr. has disappeared in plain sight. Despite the federal holiday, the postage stamps, and the required reference in history textbooks, King's vitality and complexity have faded from view. Young people do not learn how radical he was, liberals forget that he despaired of whites even as he loved them, and contemporary black leaders tend to ignore the powerful forces that shaped him - the black church, language, and sexuality - thereby obscuring his relevance to black youth and hip-hop culture."--Jacket.Leer más

Preface: "We as a People Will Get to the Promised Land": Martin and Us --
Introduction: "You Don't Need to Go Out Saying Martin Luther King, Jr. Is a Saint": The American Hero --
Ideology --
"I Saw That Dream Turn Into a Nightmare": From Color-Blindness to Black Compensation --
"Most Americans Are Unconscious Racists": Beyond Liberalism --
"As I Ponder the Madness of Vietnam": The Outlines of a Militant Pacifism --
"America Must Move Toward a Democratic Socialism": A Progressive Social Blueprint --
"We Did Engage in a Black Power Move": An Integrationist Embraces Enlightened Black Nationalism --
Identity --
"I Had to Know God for Myself": The Shape of a Radical Faith --
"Somewhere I Read of the Freedom of Speech": Constructing a Unique Voice --
"There Is a Civil War Going on Within All of Us": Sexual Personae in the Revolution --
"I Have Walked Among the Desperate, Rejected, and Angry": Two Generations of the Young, Gifted, and Black --
"The Primary Obligation of the Woman Is That of Motherhood": The Pitfalls of Patriarchy --
Image --
"Be True to What You Said on Paper": A Critical Patriotism --
"I Won't Have Any Money to Leave Behind": The Ownership of a Great Man --
"If I Have to Go Through This to Give the People a Symbol": The Burden of Representation.

Resumen:

In this text, Michael Eric Dyson reassesses the legacy of Martin Luther King in the years since his death. A legacy, he argues, which has been misappropriated by groups ranging from white conservatives, black church leaders to advertisers and even the King family.Leer más

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Resumen de la editorial

James Ellroy author of "L.A. Confidential, American Tabloid," and "My Dark Places I May Not Get There With You" is an exultant tribute to, and dissection of, the greatest 20th-century American. Martin Luther King lives -- in Michael Eric Dyson's brilliantly executed free-form sermon/biography/race riff. The book is a gift of language; provocative and challenging insights pop from every page. The transcendent and hugely troubled spirit of Martin Luther King grabs you, shakes you, and haunts you.Leer más

""So much has changed since the glory days of the civil rights movement - and so much has stayed the same. African Americans command their place at every level of society, from the lunch counter to the college campus to the corporate boardroom - yet the gap between the American middle class and the black poor is as wide as ever. Where can we turn to find the vision that will guide us through these strange and difficult times? Michael Eric Dyson helps us find the answer in our recent past, by resurrecting the true Martin Luther King, Jr." "A private citizen who transformed the world around him, King was arguably the greatest American who ever lived. Yet, as Dyson so poignantly reveals, Martin Luther King, Jr. has disappeared in plain sight. Despite the federal holiday, the postage stamps, and the required reference in history textbooks, King's vitality and complexity have faded from view. Young people do not learn how radical he was, liberals forget that he despaired of whites even as he loved them, and contemporary black leaders tend to ignore the powerful forces that shaped him - the black church, language, and sexuality - thereby obscuring his relevance to black youth and hip-hop culture."--Jacket."